This past year saw a lot of good video games. These include Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, and Assassins Creed: Revelations, and of course Skyrim. Although all of these titles were great games, the best game of 2011 would have to be Star Wars: The Old Republic. The Old Republic is an MMORPG (massive multiplayer role playing game) developed by BioWare. It includes elements that all MMOs have such as PvP and questing, but it puts a Star Wars spin on it.
There are many reasons that I would consider this game the best of the year. Many people have been waiting 4+ years since they announced development for this game to come out. As far as MMOs are concerned, this game had a great launch. While it has its bugs, the servers didn’t crash like they have in past MMO releases. BioWare did a great job on their first MMO. Many people were critical of their staggered approach to letting people into the early access but by doing it this way, people actually got to play as opposed to trying to log in and having the servers crash. This game takes a huge step forward for MMOs. The way in which you accept (or decline) quests is unique. Each quest giver has a voice over. You can pick what you say to them from three options, instead of reading the quest information. This is also the first MMO to have an alignment system of this sort. By the options you pick in these quest dialogues, you can go to the light or dark side. You can also have these dialogues in a group, which nets you social points. They also have a space combat system, similar to that of the older Battlefront games. The music in the game is everything you would expect from a Star Wars title. There are some original tracks and some that are common throughout the Star Wars Universe. If you purchased the Collector’s Edition of the game, you also received a copy of the game soundtrack.
The Old Republic has features that no other MMO has had. It has raised the bar for new MMOs. BioWare has developed a great game. The environments are everything you have come to love from Star Wars. Overall the game is great, and easily the best game to be released in 2011. People who play MMOs are picky about their games and I believe that many are satisfied with BioWare’s venture into the world of MMORPGs. With all the thing that they have added to surpass other MMOs combined with their smooth game launch, there is no question that The Old Republic is the best video game of 2011.